Making their first appearance in Ottawa, Joe Beef's chef-owners-turned-authors are the guests of honour at our Joe Beef-inspired dinner

If you’ve been tuned into the food, restaurant, or cookbook worlds lately, there is one name on everyone’s lips: JOE BEEF. The larger-than-life duo of David McMillan and Frédéric Morin, co-owners of Montreal’s beloved bistro, are our guides to The Art of Living According to Joe Beef. Their cookbook (of sorts) — like their restaurant — serves up a dose of nostalgia alongside a modern vision of a world in which you’d eat foie gras breakfast sandwiches with maple mustard at 7 a.m. or 7 p.m.. Lucky for us, these guys are great cooks, inspiring storytellers, and wonderful company.

On Monday Feb. 27, Fred and Dave will hop aboard a train (of course! See Chapter 3 for Fred’s top train itineraries) from Montreal to Ottawa to join us for a one-of-a-kind dinner party in their honour. Ottawa Magazine and City Bites has partnered with Urban Element for another spectacular City Bites Live event, an evening dedicated to eating, drinking, and talking with our mouths full.

City Bites blogger and Ottawa Magazine’s food editor Shawna Wagman will conduct a Q & A session with the chef/authors. Meanwhile, a cocktail party-style moveable feast will be prepared by local chefs inspired by the spirit of Joe Beef and recipes from the cookbook.

There will be plenty of time for audience questions, gathering tips on building a garden in a crack den, or making your own absinthe, and books signing opportunities. As participating chef Marysol Foucault says, “We will rock le shit. And roll around in pork fat.” (Translation: We are super excited.)

With their restaurant and now the book, David McMillan, left and Fred Morin have set the food world on fire...just by being themselves.

Price includes: a copy of the book The Art of Living According to Joe Beef; Q & A session with Shawna Wagman; Joe Beef-inspired dishes created by local chefs; and three beverages. (Wine and Beau’s beer)

On cooking lobster: “Lobsters live in the sea, and the best lobster you’ll ever eat will be when you are on a ship or near the shore where the lobster is boiled in seawater. So, before you add the lobster, taste the water. If it is as salty as the sea, bomb in the live lobster. … If you don’t want to look at the live lobster as it boils, you are probably someone who likes to have sex with the light off. That’s OK.”

On choosing wine: “If you bring your partner into the restaurant and spend all of your time talking to your waiter about wine (which we see all the time) instead of focusing on the conversation, you’re a jerk. A restaurant meal is a precursor for the acts of business, lovemaking, and friendship. Leave your wine OCD at home. Once you choose the wine and taste it (this should only take three minutes, not 20), there is no more talking about wine.”